Rare Day Projects presents Carol Libman’s Lies and Consequences, directed by Jeanette Dagger and running this week only at Red Sandcastle Theatre. With the genesis of the play occurring well before the emergence of the #MeToo movement, playwright Libman was inspired to return to it and complete the script—and tell this story.

Lauded popular author Martha (Tara Baxendale) is under pressure to complete her next novel, inspired by Catherine the Great, as she juggles the scheduling nightmare that is her professional and personal life. Struggling with writer’s block, but looking forward to catching up with her sister Cathy (Martha Breen) at an upcoming weekend of celebration around her cousin/BFF Peter’s (Ryan Bannon) science award ceremony, she’s suddenly thrown back into the past when a drunken make-out session with her journalist boyfriend Andre (Derek Perks) goes from clumsily enthusiastic…

Polish Your Pole, performed by Brenda Somers, is a hilariously funny, innuendo-filled pre-show piece in the upper lobby, featuring – you guessed it – what remains of the Firehall No. 4 fire pole across from the box office. Somers is brilliant in this very short piece, an added big fun element of the fest with one final performance tonight at 7:30 p.m. Always thought that pole was going underutilized. And it now has a name.

Airport Tale,by Carol Libman and directed by Carys Lewis, has a travelling senior citizen getting some life advice from an unlikely source when she’s detained at the airport. Jane Carnwath is a delight as the feisty, no nonsense Evalina…

Here’s what one of our writers is up to: she’s got a short play in the New Ideas Festival (which opens March 12), but a couple weeks before that, another of her plays will be staged at Sterling Studio Theatre. Read on…

Alumnae member Carol Libman is dashing between rehearsals these days: A Life Beyond Doubt(in an earlier existence known as Connections) opens at Sterling Studio Theatre on March 6, and plays through March 15. Airport Talewill be part of Week Three of this year’s New Ideas Festival at Alumnae Theatre, March 26 – 30.

A Life Beyond Doubtbegan as a one-scene experiment at the Alum’s New Play Development Group; another scene was added, based on Flora Danziger’s “adventure”, when she left a parcel at the wrong house! And the third scene came about when Carol realized the two were linked. …giving rise to the [original] title – since changed – as the play itself, grew and changed.

Next stop was Theatre Aurora’s Playwrights of Spring, then at the annual Alumnae Big Ideas project. At that point the characters refused to leave the stage – so the author – held hostage – had to let them carry on to find their own way (with a little help from the playwright). Later, under the leadership of Jane Carnwath, it was given a reading at the Alumnae, followed by intensive work with dramaturg lindi g. papoff, then more public exposure at both Writer’s Springboard in Aurora, and the Little Theatre of Fall River, in Fall River, Mass. Now, with its new title and working under Canadian Actors Equity Artists’ Collective Policy, the latest version is about to be unveiled.

Sterling Studio Theatre is located at 163 Sterling Road, Unit 5. The road runs north from Dundas West, just past the place where Dundas and College meet. By TTC, take the 505 streetcar from Dundas West station. Get off at Sterling Road and walk north, past the Nestle Chocolate Factory. The theatre is on your right a little north, down a little alleyway, past the courtyard, to the back of the building. There is lots of street parking. The venue is wheelchair accessible.

Tickets: available on line or by phone: tomorrowseve.brownpapertickets.com or 1-800-838-3006, ext. 1-$20 evenings, $15 matinees. Or, at the door, evenings, $25 regular, $20 arts workers, students, seniors; matinees: Pay-What-You-Can. Also available at T.O. TIX.

After a short breather, Libman will be dashing off for the last run-throughs of Airport Tale, a comedy directed by Carys Lewis, with Jane Carnwath and Andy Perun; Stage Manager is Thalia Leonard. Airport Tale is actually the first scene of a longer play following the adventures of 90-year old Evalina, as she runs afoul of security at Pearson Airport. It will be seen the third week of NIF, March 26 – 30, along with Would You Do It Again? by Rebecca Grace; Simprov by Laurence Klavan; Pit Sublime by Alexandra Watt Simpson and Rotating Thunderstorm by Taylor Marie Graham. Tickets: 416-364-4170, Box 1, or www.alumnaetheatre.com